Right Around The Corner!

What a week! International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) is just around the corner (tomorrow and Sunday!), and I have been doing tons of work to be ready for it. Today it happens to be raining, but I am hoping it will clear up a little for our event. I am excited to see how IMBD goes, especially since this is the first large event I have planned before. Special thanks to Environment for the Americas and the staff at Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve for all their help!

This week was also an exciting one for bird surveys. My special Red Knot friend (if he/she is the same one) was back, and with three friends of his/her own! I also got to see four Spotted Sandpipers. It took me a while to figure out which species they were, since I had not encountered any yet. Once I read the characteristic of the butt bobbing behavior, I knew it was a Spotted Sandpiper. There was also a few phalaropes at North Marsh! One was the Red-necked Phalarope and the other was the Wilson’s Phalarope, both uncommon to find in this area. It is so much fun to have knowledge of the more abundant species found at the Elkhorn Slough sites, and to be able to tell right away when there is a different species within the crowd.